#ThrowbackThursday: Cabin Finishing Touches

A remote float cabin comes with lots of maintenance and improvement projects. After about a year of making changes to our guest room, bathroom and kitchen, I wanted to add some finishing touches inside.

My plan included new ceiling insulation, painting and pine paneling in the great room downstairs and the loft bedroom. These were jobs for our good friend John. To make it easier on all of us, we scheduled the work while we were away on a trip.  

The walls were stained near windows, doors and the woodstove. To brighten the room, we used white semi-gloss paint under the peak of the roof. John suggested replacing the cedar strips and I quickly agreed.

Before above, after below showing painting of the front wall.

John used rigid plastic panels to cover the ceiling insulation stained due to woodstove moisture. New panels fit between the rafters up to the peak of the roof. The new insulation gave us an attractive ceiling and helped the cabin retain more heat in winter.

Before above, after below showing the new panels for ceiling insulation.

We covered the side and front walls of the great room downstairs with pine paneling. John installed it horizontally on top of the old fiberboard. It was an easier installation, with the added bonus of increased wall insulation.

Pine paneling in the great room from the north to east to south wall.

In my kitchen, I spray water when I use the sink's hand pump to draw water up from the lake. We found a small piece of maroon Arborite (formica) for a backsplash.

Installation of the sink's new Arborite backsplash.

The loft bedroom got pine paneling for a headboard to our king-size bed, made from two twins. Getting a king mattress up the lake in the back of our boat and up the narrow stairs would have been too difficult.

Pine paneling for our king-size bed in the loft bedroom.

The finishing of finishing touch was a new sofa that did come up the lake by boat. It's the only seating in our living room, so it's an important comfort and decorative feature.

And a tribute to our beloved Stick Tail who lived to 23 years.

Thanks for visiting my #ThrowbackTursday posts about float cabin living. Next week I'll share a YouTube video about our float cabin home created by Kirsten Dirksen. -- Margy

Available Online: "Farther Up the Lake"

We're don't get many visitors up the lake, but when we do we like to share stories about float cabin living. John taught at Mt. San Antonio College with Wayne before our retirement. He's the person who coined the phrase "complicated simple life."

Are you interested in off-the-grid adventures? Farther Up the Lake is filled with stories about living in a remote water access floating cabin on Powell Lake in Coastal BC.

A Great Book
for the Outdoor Enthusiast

Farther Up the Lake

Coastal BC Stories

Want to know more about float cabin living? Following in the footsteps of the most successful book in the Coastal BC Stories series comes Farther Up the Lake. Head up Powell Lake to experience life in an off the grid float cabin, experience winter on the lake, spend the night up at the head, go beachcombing for logging history, and much more. Read Farther Up the Lake by Wayne Lutz and see how much fun it can be to go up the lake. 

Go to PowellRiverBooks.com for more information.

Available online in print and ebook formats
from Amazon and many other book sellers.

#ThrowbackThursday: Float Cabin Tours - Sleeping Loft and Great Room

Welcome to my fifth installment of float cabin tours. So far you've been welcomed aboard, examined our floor plans, viewed our off-the-grid kitchen, and walked through our new bathroom and guest bedroom.

Birdseye view of the living room.

The tour continues with our upstairs sleeping loft and the downstairs living room that's part of an open concept great room.

We spend most of our indoor time in the living room, more so in winter. The square footage is small, but ample for two to live comfortably.

A new corner shelf.

The living room only needed updating. The woodstove was painted with high heat enamel to refresh it and protect the metal. John built two custom shelves, one for books and storage, and one for a sofa end table.

Wayne and Sticktail enjoy the sofa.

Our old sofa was well loved but needed replacing. We splurged on a new one that we brought up the lake in the back of our boat.

The loft bedroom with a king bed.

Upstairs is our sleeping loft. It's 225 sq.ft. under the roof with two twins made into a king bed. The front is open to the living room's cathedral ceiling.

The center ceiling is high then slopes down to short walls good for storage.


Come take a YouTube video tour to see for yourself.

Thanks for taking the tour today. If you have any questions, please ask. We enjoy sharing about our off-the-grid experiences. -- Margy

Available Online "Cabin Number 5" by Wayne J. Lutz

You've just been reading a series of posts about our float cabin on Powell Lake. It was built almost single handedly by our good friend John. He took several years off after building our cabin, but the dream of a new one for himself was strong.

Cabin Number 5

Coastal BC Stories

from
PowellRiverBooks.com

Cabin Number 5 is the nineth book in the Coastal BC Stories series by Wayne J. Lutz. In it he follows along as John constructs his new float cabin from the water up. John purchased massive cedar logs and cabled them together into the floating foundation. Over the months and years, when time and money were available, the cabin grew board by board. If you've ever dreamed of living in an off-the-grid cabin, or wanted to build one for yourself, you'll enjoy reading Cabin Number 5 (yes, it's the fifth one John has built or remodeled).

Go to PowellRiverBooks.com for ordering information.

Print for $9.95
Kindle for $2.99 
Kobo for $2.99 
Smashwords for $2.99 

Also available at other online bookstores.

#ThrowbackThursday: Float Cabin Tours - Bathroom and Guest Room

Last week I shared the remodeled kitchen in our float cabin. From Summer 2011 through Spring 2012, with the help of our good friend John, we completed several float cabin improvement projects. The most involved was the addition of a bathroom and side porch.

Follow these links for details about the construction process.

Framed next to guest room.

Under Construction schematic video
Up Goes the Frame
Site Supervisor
Night Watchman
Bathroom and Porch

There's a compost toilet, tub, a pantry and a repurposed nightstand for storage. And now there's no need to climb the cliff to an outhouse.

The new bathroom.

It's nice to have indoor "plumbing" after all these years. Our kitchen sink hand pump for water and the woodstove for heating it are still integral components of our new bathroom.

But the most welcome addition is the compost toilet. An added bonus is that it is an approved black water solution that meets our water lease requirements.

A room for guests.

While we were at it, we remodeled the adjacent downstairs guest bedroom. The old window became the doorway into the bathroom. For a new window to let light into the room, John cut a hole in the back wall with his trusty chainsaw.

A new window.

We don't have many overnight guests, so the extra "bedroom" is a handy place to keep several days of wood in an indoor storage shelf.

It's also a good place to keep my books and crafting supplies, and as a nice spot to lounge in the sun to read, thanks to the new window.

Come take a YouTube video tour to see for yourself.

To read more about off-the-grid life in a float cabin, check out two of Wayne's books in the Coastal BC Stories series. -- Margy

Up the Lake -- Print for $9.95 or free Kindle introductory offer in most countries or $.99 USD elsewhere. Other free e-book offers are available at Smashwords and other online booksellers.

Farther Up the Lake -- Print for $9.95 or Kindle for $1.99. Other e-book formats are available at Smashwords and other online booksellers.

#ThrowbackThursday: Float Cabin Tours - Kitchen Kapers

Welcome to my next installment of float cabin tours. You've been welcomed aboard and you've seen our cabin's floor plan. Today I'm taking you through the kitchen we remodeled in 2011. The biggest changes were new propane appliances and extra storage space.

Float Cabin Kitchen

We kept our L-shaped counter and sink with a hand water pump. With limited electric power, having manual and propane appliances helps.

L-counter with sink and hand water pump.

Because we live in an area with off-gridders, propane appliances are available. We upgraded to a home-sized Unique brand propane refrigerator and a larger Premier brand propane range. And John built us a custom shelf for our electronics and the storage of large pots. Here are links for more detailed information:

Delivering appliances up the lake.
Selecting a propane refrigerator.
A new propane range.
A custom kitchen shelf.
Hand-powered water pump.
Dining al fresco in all seasons.

Dining al fresco in all seasons.

To save space, we eat at the picnic table on the front porch or on TV trays in the living room.

If you ask Wayne, he'll say the best upgrade is the refrigerator. We have plenty of room for milk (Wayne loves milk and cookies) and freezer space for ice cream.

Thanks for taking the tour today. Come back next week and see where guests can stay and our bathroom addition. -- Margy

#ThrowbackThursday: Float Cabin Tour - Cabin Floor Plan

The living room side of the greatroom.

Before I proceed with the video tour inside our float cabin home, here's an overview.

Our cabin is the third John built, so it's called Cabin #3. It's small enough (675 sqft) to easily maintain but large enough not to be cramped.

First Floor

The first floor has the most living space (500 sqft). There are two small bedrooms (7'x10'), one for guests (which we rarely get) and one for storage. We keep a week's supply of firewood (Wood Storage Shelf Construction) in the guest room. That's especially handy in winter.

Sink with hand pump and propane fridge.

Downstairs is greatroom style. The kitchen with propane appliances is on one side and the living room with a woodstove on the other. We have a portable TV for Internet streaming. It's compact and functional.

Compost toilet, tub and storage.

In 2011 we added an indoor bathroom off the guest room to replace our outhouse four flights of stairs up the granite cliff. This one change to our cabin made full-time living much easier.

Second Floor

The loft master bedroom with a king bed and view.

The second floor is a sleeping loft. Two twin beds together make a king. The loft and high ceiling over the living room make the cabin feel spacious. A window high on the opposite wall gives us a captivating view of Goat Island.

If we had more space it would feel like work to keep it clean and maintained. If you are planning on building or purchasing a cabin, think about that. Bigger isn't always better.

Come back next week for the next installment of the video tour. See all that we can do in a kitchen with just 130 square feet. -- Margy